Atlanta approves funding for controversial public safety training center amid protests
The capital of the state of Georgia plans to allocate $30 million to a controversial project that has been boycotted by left-wing radicals due to their perception of it as a 'Cop City'.
The Atlanta City Council has approved funding to build a police and firefighter training center, this decision flies in the face of protests from left-wing activists who have been rejecting this project for months and trying to boycott the creation of what they call, a police city.
The vote went through early Tuesday morning by 11 votes in favor to 4 against. Over the past few months, the Stop Cop City movement mobilized protesters across the country in an attempt to defeat the project. Protests that reached the Atlanta City Council vote in recent hours.
During one of the boycotts in January, radical activist Manuel Páez Terán was shot and killed by police officers after opening fire on the officers in one of the forests near the project site in DeKalb County. The death of the activist, known as "Tortuguita," increased the violence in the streets and the pressure against the construction of the center.
The training center was approved by the City Council in September 2021. The new campus will have 85 acres (34 hectares) and a municipal endowment of $30 million.